A retail lot in Austin, Texas recently sprouted a stunning field of solar sunflowers that soak up the sun’s rays to provide shade while generating a steady stream of renewable energy. Designed by public art team Harries/Heder, the installation consists of 15 flower-like solar photovoltaic panels located on a pedestrian and bike path between the village of Mueller and Austin’s highway I-35. According to the Harries/Heder, the flowers are “an icon for the sustainable, LEED certified Muller Development and highly visible metaphor for the energy conscious City of Austin."

Mueller's Green Building Program — one of the most aggressive in the country; incorporates national LEED standards. As a result, Mueller's designs are resource-efficient, use non-toxic and recyclable regional materials and help maintain and improve air and water quality. The program is designed to promote better health, greater comfort and lower utility bills.

The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), the Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), the Alternative Energy Institute (AEI) at West Texas A&M University, and Meridian Energy Systems collaborated to install a Skystream 3.7 residential-sized wind system at the LCRA’s McKinney Roughs Nature Park near Bastrop, Texas. It is used as an educational teaching aid. The wind turbine: Skystream 3.7 with a 2.4 kilowatt rating mounted on a 75 ft pole with a 12 ft blade span. The turbine begins producing power with 8 mph breezes, has an average power rating of 1.8 kilowatts (kW) and operates most efficiently at wind speeds of 12 mph. Full output is achieved with 20 mph winds

Primarily used as an educational aid. This 1-kW solar photovoltaic panel when combined with the wind turbine already on site, can offset about 2,500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power used each year at the nature park’s administration buildings. That equals a projected offset of about 3,400 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

Mansfield Dam is one LCRA's six dams. Once the major source of LCRA's electric generation capacity, now provide power at times of peak demand as water levels allow. When fully operational, the dams' generating stations can supply as much as 292 megawatts of green electric power.